DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a 13-year-old boy who’s having asthma attacks. At least, that’s what they sound like to me. It started early this spring when the weather was still cold. He plays or practices baseball three times a week. When he’d run the bases, he’d start coughing and wheezing. Now that the weather is warmer, he still has attacks, but not so bad. Does this sound like asthma to you? I don’t know that he’s allergic to anything. — W.O.

ANSWER: Asthma is an inflammation of the airways, the bronchi. They become very sensitive, and suddenly narrow and fill with mucus when provoked. Both the constriction and the mucus make it difficult to get air into and out of the lungs. Included in the definition of asthma is reversibility. The constriction and mucus buildup are not permanent, in most cases.

The signs of asthma are a feeling of chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. In your son’s kind of asthma, exercise-induced asthma, the attack comes on five to 10 minutes after beginning an activity. Exercise-induced asthma is not so dependent on allergy triggers. It comes on because cold, dry air irritates the airways. The warmer, moister air is perhaps the reason why his attacks are not as pronounced as they were.

You need to have a doctor examine the boy to be sure if this is exercise-induced asthma. Even if he has no symptoms at the time of his doctor visit, the doctor can induce them in a number of ways. He or she also can put an end to them.

If exercise-induced asthma is proven, a multitude of medicines are available for control. Most can be taken as mouth sprays. Taking the medicine before physical activity can prevent asthma symptoms for two or three hours. That’s long enough to get him through a practice or a game.

The above is for exercise-induced asthma. It’s not for other asthma varieties.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’ve gotten seriously into bodybuilding. Can you give me an idea of how much protein I should be eating? I’m sure it’s more than what’s found in an average diet. — W.B.

ANSWER: Muscles are protein. Proteins are long chains of amino acids. The connection between protein intake and muscle building, therefore, is obvious.

For an average person, the daily protein requirement is 0.8 grams for every kilogram of body weight. Said in pounds and ounces, it’s 0.013 ounces for every pound of body weight. A 150-pounder needs 2 ounces of protein a day.

A 3.5-ounce hamburger provides 25 grams (about 1 ounce) of protein, almost half the day’s needs. And a 3.5-ounce hamburger isn’t a very large burger.

In addition to meat, beans, peas, eggs, nuts and grains are good protein sources. Almost everyone in Canada and the U.S. gets more than enough protein.

Bodybuilders or other high-energy-expending athletes can take two to three times the average protein daily requirement.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What’s the lowest number of calories a woman can safely eat in a day to lose weight? I would like to lose 20 pounds. How long will that take? — G.K.

ANSWER: An active woman needs around 1,800 calories a day. If she gets much less than that, she’ll have a hard time meeting her vitamin and mineral requirements.

If she deducts 500 calories from her daily diet, she should lose a pound in a week — 20 pounds in 20 weeks.

If she actively exercises, she needs to lower her daily intake by only 300 calories to get the same results.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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